Compact and tunable silicon nitride Bragg grating filters in polymer.

Abstract: A series of tunable filters based on silicon nitride waveguide Bragg gratings buried in polymer are studied, fabricated and analyzed. The gratings are etched completely through the waveguides to improve the peak reflectivity at short grating lengths. Reflectivity from 1% to 70% can be reached when the third-order grating length varies from 16µm to 160µm. The experimental results are in good agreement with numerical simulations. Due to its compact size and the thermal advantages of polymer, the filter can be tuned very efficiently by a micro heater buried beneath. A tuning range of 34.5nm is demonstrated at a heat power of only 22mW. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]